CATA Bus Stops Closed for 'Final Act' of College Ave Construction

State College residents have come to expect delays along College Avenue this summer, but the end is in sight.

Crews have been tearing the street up for months as part of a project to replace a century-old water line. Assuming the weather cooperates, State College Borough Water Authority executive director John Lichman says crews should be finished repaving College Avenue by Tuesday night.

“After that, the line painting just has to happen, and that’s it,” he says. “This is the final act.”

But before the project is done, State College residents will have to deal with one more round of delays and inconveniences. Effective Monday and Tuesday, all CATA bus stops along College Avenue will be closed due to the construction, according to a CATA news release.

CATA riders will have to use the bus stops located on North Atherton Street at the Walker Building or Shortlidge Road at the White Building. Additionally, buses that travel along Park Avenue will instead use Curtin Road. More information can be found by clicking HERE.

Lichman says that this kind of infrastructure update couldn’t wait much longer. Some of the major construction projects planned along College Avenue – like the massive Metropolitan project at College Avenue and Atherton Street – “just couldn’t happen” with the old pipe.

Mark Whitfield, public works director with the State College Borough, says that this summer has been a challenging one for the various construction projects around town.

“This was a tough summer with the amount of rain we had,” Whitfield says. “While not everything will be complete by the return of the students on August 21, it should not be horrible in terms of traffic delays."

Whitfield says most of the ongoing projects should be completed by mid-October, though all streets under construction will be reopened for the weekend when Penn State students return.

Whitfield says construction along University Drive will be finished by August 22, as will the work on Sparks Street. The remaining work for the Pugh Street project – which includes brickwork and street resurfacing – will be finished be mid-October.

Michael Martin Garrett is a reporter and editor for StateCollege.com who covers local government, the courts, the arts and writes the Keeping the Faith column. He's a Penn State alumnus, a published poet and the bassist in a local indie rock band.
More articles by Michael Martin Garrett →